Doctors remove coin stuck in girl’s food pipe for 15 years

A team of Department of Gastroenterology, Atal Institute of Medical Super Specialities (AIMSS), has removed a coin that had got stuck in the food pipe of a 23-year-old girl 15 years ago.

According to doctors, the girl from Chamba had accidentally swallowed a Rs 2 coin when she was a Class II student.

The coin impacted her food intake. Over the years, her parents visited various hospitals, even outside the state, in hope of getting the coin removed, but without success.

However, the AIMSS team comprising Dr Brij Sharma, Dr Rajesh Sharma, Dr Vishal Bodh and Dr Ashish Chauhan from the Department of Gastroenterology successfully dislodged the coin through endoscopy.

Dr Brij Sharma said as the coin had got stuck in the food pipe, the girl had problems in swallowing hard foods. “She modified her diet, but the problem persisted. Fortunately, the coin did not cause damage. Many doctors had tried to remove the coin via endoscopy, but were unsuccessful. A surgery would have been the only option had we been unable to remove the coin via endoscopy. Moreover, it would have been a costly procedure. Thanks to the latest machines provided by the state government, our team was able to remove the coin without causing any harm,” he added.

The doctor at AIMMS said patient had been discharged and she can now eat any type of food.